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With the 2020 election looming, Nashville artists push for campaign music reform

Matthew Leimkuehler
Nashville Tennessean

As the 2020 U.S. Presidential election inches closer, top songwriters, producers and touring artists urge bipartisan leadership for more accountability on political campaign playlists. 

In a letter delivered Tuesday to Republican and Democratic campaign committees, the nonprofit Artist Rights Alliance implored that partisan election groups establish policies where candidates must seek consent prior to aligning music with political events. 

Nearly 60 artists signed the letter, including Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, Lorde, Lionel Richie, Linkin Park, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Notable Nashville signatures include Sheryl Crow, Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires, Mary Gauthier, Michelle Branch and Black Keys' drummer Patrick Carney. 

Sheryl Crow performs for her fans at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tenn., on June 8, 2018.


The stalemate between politicians and music used without artists' consent crosses party lines and exists beyond one campaign cycle, the letter noted.

Examples of musicians clashing with modern campaigns date back to at least 1984, when Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp opposed former President Ronald Reagan permission to use to "Born In The U.S.A." and "Pink Houses," respectively. Politicians criticized by artists during a campaign cycle include Presidents George H. W. Bush and Barack Obama, Senators Mitt Romney and John McCain, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and others. 

And no politician may see more backlash for soundtrack selection than President Donald Trump, with a multitude of artists — the Tom Petty estate, Rihanna, Adele, Linkin Park, Neil Young and the Rolling Stones among them — denouncing songs used during campaign events. 

More:35 musicians who famously told politicians: Don't use my song

Campaigns and political organizations can pay performance rights organizations, such as ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, for blanket song licenses. 

The letter argues "the legal risks are clear" when campaigns play music without artist permission. 

It addresses the "exposure for trademark infringement, dilution or tarnishment" covered under the Lanham Act, a legal statue introduced in that 1940s that prohibits false advertising. 

"Campaign uses of music can violate federal and (in some cases) state copyrights in both sound recordings and musical compositions," the letter said. "Depending on the technology used to copy and broadcast these works, multiple exclusive copyrights, including both performance and reproduction, could be infringed." 

Artists should be able to "control their work and make free choices," the letter said; no politician benefits from an artist needing to "publicly disown" a campaign. 

"It undermines the campaign process, confuses the voting public, and ultimately distorts elections," the letter said. "It should be anathema to any honest candidate to play off this kind of uncertainty or falsely leave the impression of an artist’s or songwriter’s support."

The letter concludes with artists asking the political groups to acknowledge a plan for reform by Aug. 10.